Global Sounds on Screen: “Mali Blues,” a concert movie showing how Fatoumata “Fatou” Diawara, Bassekou Kouyaté, Master Soumy and Ahmed Ag Kaedi are using secular music to stand up to extremism in their West African country, kicks off a six-week “globe-trotting survey of films on music, struggle, joy and dissent.” [7:30 p.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St., S.F.]

Ghost Limb: Opening with a preview performance, Xicana playwright Marisela Orta’s premiere, set during Argentina’s Dirty War and riffing on the Greek myth of Persephone and Demeter, tells the story of los desaparecidos (“the disappeared”) and the mothers who protested the dictatorship who took their children. [7 p.m., Brava, 2781 24th St., S.F.]

Joan C. Williams: The Hastings College of the Law professor is promoting her book “White Working Class,” which analyzes the motivations of the purportedly disappearing middle class at the center of today’s populist movements. [6 p.m., Book Passage, 1 Ferry Building, S.F.]

All Our Waves Are Water: The evening of oceanic storytelling and music features author-surfer Jaimal Yogis discussing his new memoir, as well as a screening of “Saltwater Buddha,” a new documentary based on Yogis’ first hit book. [6:30 p.m., Clif Bar Headquarters, 1451 66th St., Emeryville]

Peter Fortuna-A Tenderloin Story: The retrospective featuring photography by the Tenderloin resident who found success in the 1970s-80s, was derailed by addiction and now is celebrating seven years of sobriety, opens with a reception. [6 p.m., Tenderloin Museum, 398 Eddy St., S.F.]

FRIDAY, JULY 7

Goon: Noise Pop presents the project of Los Angeles-based musician and visual artist Kenny Becker, who, according to one critic, captures the essence of ‘90s college radio right down to the band’s name. [9 p.m., Cafe Du Nord, 2174 Market St., S.F.]

McQueen In The City: The free movie night presents “The Towering Inferno” and “Bullitt” as well as enters every guest into a raffle to win a $50 gift certificate from the Polk Street bar Bullitt. [6 p.m., Great American Music Hall, 859 O’Farrell St., S.F.]

Frank Smigiel: The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art curator lectures on “Notes on Imagined Community,” which examines contributions of ticket-takers, ushers and technicians to artistic performances and endeavors. [6:30 p.m., San Francisco Art Institute, 800 Chestnut St., S.F.]

Jewelry and Music on the Square: Paperback Writer, a Beatles tribute band, plays at 6 p.m. at the summer art festival, a showcase (and sale) of jewelry by local crafts professionals. [5 to 8:30 p.m., Courthouse Square, 2200 Broadway, Redwood City]

Jonathan Lewis: The social justice activist, founder of MCE Social Capital, which leverages private capital to finance small business loans to poor people across the world, launches his book “The Unfinished Social Entrepreneur.” [7 p.m., Books Inc., 601 Van Ness Ave., S.F.]

The North Pool: Playwright Rajiv Joseph’s psychological thriller is about a Syrian-born student in a large U.S. high school who becomes caught in a web of lies about crimes he may (or may not) have committed. [8 p.m., Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway, Redwood City]